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Professorial Lecture Series 2017/18

Celebrating and sharing the expertise and achievements of our new and established Professors.

These lectures showcase the breadth and quality of the research being conducted at the University.

The following Professorial lectures took place in the academic year 2017/18.

Professor Trish Winter

Thursday 28 September 2017, 6pm

'Doing Culture'

In this lecture Professor Trish Winter, Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries reflected on what it means to ‘do culture’ at the present time. What do we mean by ‘culture’? Whose culture counts? And why do we need to talk about it?

Professor Lynne Hall

Thursday 16 November 2017, 6pm

'Too big for fences: Engaging the User in the Experience'

In this lecture, Professor Lynne Hall, Faculty of Computer Science, drew from her interdisciplinary practice considering how to increase users’ engagement with the design and evaluation of interactive technologies. Professor Hall particular interests lie both in improving the evaluation experience for end users and in increasing the quality and usefulness of such results for users of the research findings.

Professor Chris Bowerman

Wednesday 31 January 2018, 6pm

'Can we build an AI brain and when will it take over from humans?'

In this lecture, Professor Chris Bowerman, Faculty of Computer Science talked about a major paradigm shift in the computing landscape being underway. Computers are learning! They are becoming thinking machines. Such cognitive computers will aid humans in formulating solutions and decision making. Advances are already having an impact on our lives such as Amazon Echo, making fraud predictions, personalised medicine and IBM Watson Health. But when, and what will happen if our 60-year-old AI brain-child turns on us?

Professor Sheila McQueen

Thursday 15 February 2018, 6pm

'Practising as a Professional and Feeling and Acting Like a Nurse: my personal reflections and narratives on a career in Nursing'

“Nursing is the best career in the world, I have had the best experiences- am privileged to have cared for people and families, and have worked with wonderful role models- some of these experiences are now wonderful memories, which I would like to share with you in this Inaugural lecture.”

“I have acquired and upheld sufficient characteristics to have a personal construct which enables me to act like a nurse and to be accepted as a professional by my colleagues. Professionalism means something to all of us that work as a nurse. Being an inspiring role model, working in the best interests of people in my care, regardless of any position I have held and wherever I practise, is what surely brings practice and professional behaviour together in nursing. I am an ordinary nurse who has been fortunate to have extra-ordinary experiences”

In this Inaugural lecture, Professor Sheila McQueen, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing held a conversation with the audience and reflected on the wonderful personal experience that inform her understanding of professionalism and what it is to be a nurse.

Professor Jonathan Ling

Thursday 26 April 2018, 6pm

'What's the Future of Public Health Research?'

We are living in a period of unprecedented and rapid socio-economic, technological and political change. Non-communicable diseases account for 85% of health service demand and are the main contributor to the fiscal unsustainability of health and social care services. Cuts to local government income, outsourcing of public services, increasing privatisation of the NHS, rapidly changing technology, rising economic and financial insecurity, skills deficits and reduced funding within the public health workforce, as well as the uncertainties resulting from Brexit, are all having an impact on the ability of our communities to deal with public health challenges. And the need for public health research far outstrips the availability of funding to carry it out.

Professor Michael Young, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)

Wednesday 16 May 2018, 6pm

'Live algorithms for music'

Can computers be creative? How would we know? The Live Algorithms for Music network explores such questions in the context of live improvisation, applying AI techniques to produce (apparently) pro-active and responsive performers able to perform alongside human musicians. Professor Michael Young's talk presented one attempt to create such a system in practice.